Fox, Williams to interview on Wednesday

Douglas LeeJan 10, 2011 12:36 PM

UPDATE 3:46PM ET - Kevin Acee of the SDUT is reporting that Chargers DC Ron Rivera is expected to be named the new coach of the Panthers tomorrow.

UPDATE 2:09PM ET - Elway has just confirmed via Twitter that New Orleans has granted permission for Denver to speak with Gregg Williams; the Saints DC will also interview with the Broncos on Wednesday.

ORIGINAL POST 1:36PM ET - Because the camera crew wasn't ready of inclement weather in NC, John Fox's interview today with the Broncos has been rescheduled to Wednesday, according to John Elway via Twitter. Elway also confirmed that Rick Dennison and Mr. Dirk Koetter will be appearing on The Real Head Coaches of Denver™ sometime tomorrow.

Williams' defense allowed a stunning 41 points during Saturday's loss to Seattle. Although they ranked 7th in the NFL points and 4th in yards allowed, the Saints' defense was 24th in defensive efficiency according to Advanced NFL Stats in 2010.

In making the case for Williams three and a half weeks ago, our good friend Ted Bartlett said Williams "may be the best defensive schemer in the game, having learned a great deal from Buddy Ryan...I’d push for him to bring Saints Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael, Jr. with him, and give him a lot of autonomy over the offense. Carmichael is young, and has an excellent background, and he doesn’t call plays in New Orleans, so this would be a promotion for him."

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

OOYE you were right the first time - McDaniels won 3 games, Studesville 1. Fox&#8217s Panthers won 2 games in 2010.

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2011-01-10 20:55:53

It&#8217s a fair point/question, OOYE, even if I am naively hoping the Broncos front office is past the point of letting the fanbase dictate who they hire. Frankly, there are quite a few good candidates here and I could see the typical negative fan finding something to worry about with any of them.

Posted by underdog on 2011-01-10 20:55:32

Did I say three win? I meant four&#8230

Posted by OutOfYourElement on 2011-01-10 20:51:54

Given the recently rash nature of the Broncos fanbase, doesn&#8217t Fox seem like a PR nightmare after a one win season?

Not to say he&#8217s not supremely qualified, and faced significant challenges (injuries, mgt support), but how will the average Broncos fan react? Fire our 3 win coach, acquire a 1 win coach?

Posted by OutOfYourElement on 2011-01-10 20:49:54

Oops, Doug&#8217s update appeared above after I last refreshed the page before posting.

Anyway&#8230 I wasn&#8217t as sure about Rivera as a HC as I am about him as a DC, and not sure he was gonna be a likely fit in Denver, so there we go.

Posted by underdog on 2011-01-10 20:48:47

In case anyone thought Rivera could be the guy (I didn&#8217t, fwiw)... sounds like we scratch him off the list.

RT @AdamSchefter Translation on Chargers DC Ron Rivera: If the two sides can work out a contract, he will be the Panthers next head coach.

Posted by underdog on 2011-01-10 20:47:15

The main reason I advocated for Williams, and still do, is that I think the Broncos are a very special case. They&#8217ve had so much coordinator and scheme turnover on that side of the ball that their roster is full of some solid pieces that don&#8217t always work well together.

By hiring a defensive head coach, defense suddenly tends to become the focal point of the team, not the afterthought it was for many years under Mike Shanahan, and to a lesser degree, under the two years of Josh McDaniels. Williams is, to me, the best defensive schemer in the NFL, and he has a long history of turning around defenses quickly.

This isn&#8217t a terribly hard fix to me, really, given the Broncos current position. Get a coherent and effective defensive strategy in place. Get Elvis Dumervil and Robert Ayers ready to play Defensive End. Resign Champ Bailey, Marcus Thomas, and Wesley Woodyard. Sign a free agent safety like Eric Weddle. Draft Nick Fairley, assuming he&#8217s available, and use your other high draft picks to pick the best live bodies available on the defensive side.

Posted by Ted Bartlett on 2011-01-10 20:33:51

Chibronx, completely agree. The depth and breadth of search gives me some confidence that our front office is doing it correctly, and also that we&#8217ll be able to find the best candidate.

Posted by chantech on 2011-01-10 20:11:05

4 interviews in the next 2 days.

I think there is a good chance that the Broncos might post the entire interview on twitter. That would be cool.

In all seriousness, I think Fox is a great candidate&#8230maybe the best.

Posted by NickCast on 2011-01-10 19:57:23

This is exciting. I have to say I love the breadth of the search. Since they&#8217re going through this crazy level of transparency, it would be nice to know how many names were on the mid-list, what the criteria for narrowing it were, and how they&#8217ll ask questions about coordinators. With the way they&#8217re doing things now, I suddenly feel entitled to this degree of information.

If I were doing a sensitivity analysis of Ted&#8217s push for Williams, I&#8217d note that it&#8217s contingent on him a) having been de-stogified due to presence around Sean Payton and b) bring Pete Carmichael, Jr. along. Would that be promotion enough for Carmichael to come? My preference for any defensive candidate would be predicated on the offensive guys he proposed to bring. That goes triple for the previously conservative Williams.

Posted by Chibronx on 2011-01-10 19:29:50

I agree, BB. Williams is undoubtedly a stellar defensive coach. I only slipped that Burke reference in there because it was an interesting point I noted yesterday.

The talk of running the ball a lot more has been worrisome, but as Ted pointed out Williams has had a front row seat to see just what an explosive passing offense is worth. - obviously, this is a totally unrelated comment. I just want the next regime to continue the aggressive offensive style that McDaniels had installed. Obviously it&#8217ll be a different scheme, but someone who likes to pass and to go for it on fourth down&#8230

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2011-01-10 19:20:21

According to another tweet from The Duke, Williams will be in on Wednesday. Some folks seem pretty eager to let one game dictate their feelings about Williams (at least according to a lot of stuff I read on twitter Saturday afternoon). Seattle is a tough place to play anytime, let alone in a playoff game, and Hasselbeck and those receivers made some unreal plays against good coverage. Furthermore, Greg Williams wasn&#8217t out there tackling anyone. Yes, you have to focus on tackling in camp, practice, etc., but that was the playoffs and those were grown men. Lastly, Malcolm Jenkins is arguably the best player in their secondary and it&#8217s tough to lose the guy.

I&#8217m not necessarily lobbying for the guy, but I don&#8217t think too much should be read into one game, or even one season. This guy has been a great defensive coach for a long time. I&#8217ll take Ted&#8217s word on that. I&#8217m glad he&#8217s getting an interview.